clues

03.13.14

Plane Pinged Satellite for 5 Hours

AFP/Getty

Well this is interesting. People briefed on the matter said on Thursday that the missing Malaysian Airlines plane "pinged" its location and altitude repeatedly to satellites for five hours after it fell off radar. The final ping was sent from cruising altitude, though officials and others did not disclose its specific path. But if the plane was in the air for those five hours, it could mean that it is 2,200 miles from its last confirmed position over the Gulf of Thailand. Also on Thursday, two American officials said the U.S. believes that the plane's data reporting system was stopped at 1:07 a.m., while the location and altitude transmitter stopped at 1:21 a.m. This spaced out communication shutdown could indicate a deliberate act.